Thursday, February 27, 2014

Looks like March is going to "come in like a lion" this year with a nasty winter forecast for this weekend, but I am thinking SPRING in my stamp room! You'll love the soft colors and pretty flowers of today's card. It's the last card in my February Stamp of the Month Club series. I played with spotlighting in a different way for this card; I used glitter to highlight the stamped image. Be sure to watch my quick video tutorial below to find out how to make this sparkly window.

How to Make a Glitter Window:

Stamp image on card front.

Punch a circle (or other shape) where you want to glitter window to be.

Apply clear contact paper over the hole on the back of the card front so the sticky side is showing in the front.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

The So Very Grateful stamp set from the Stampin' Up! 2014 Occasions Catalog is an outline stamp set that just begs to be colored. And it's gorgeous! (See another example here.) But I wanted to try something less fussy with this set, so I decided to do a monochromatic card. After it was finished, I felt like it needed something else, so I added an "invisible spotlight". I stamped the image in the same color and punched it out (in this case, I used the Butterfly Punch) and then popped it up over the stamped image in the same place. The result is a subtle emphasis that almost seems "invisible".

Here is the inside of the card. I ended up using every single stamp from this stamp set!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

I received a gorgeous card in the mail from Sharon Burkert earlier this month and knew right away that I had to CASE it. I have made Easel Cards before (see them here), but this was an updated style that really appealed to me. I already shared one during the Control Freak blog tour (see it here), now here is an easel card that I designed for my Stamp of the Month Club. Be sure to watch my video tutorial below to learn how to make this card at home!

Monday, February 24, 2014

I have had this kit for three months and finally took the time to put it together before my latest Creative Corner segment on ciLiving this afternoon. (Watch me on TV here.) I couldn't believe it only took me a little over an hour to complete! (Note: I kind of knew what I was doing already, so it may take you closer to two hours to complete this project.) And it is GORGEOUS in person!!

Check out this new card kit from Stampin' Up! I love it because it includes absolutely everything that you need to make 20 cards -- including the stamps, ink, clear block, and adhesive! Ok, maybe you'll need one thing -- scissors. But everything else is in the kit. And the price is incredible -- just $19.95!!

Of course the best part of paper-crafting is doing it with friends! So I've scheduled a Hip Hip Hooray Card Class! We'll be making the cards TOGETHER! The class fee is $25, which covers the tax and shipping on the card kit.

Click HERE to register for the class, to be held on Saturday, March 15 at 9 am in Urbana, Illinois.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

I bought the Springtime Hello Garland kit from the Occasions Catalog with the idea that I would make something OTHER than a garland and that's exactly what I did! The garland kit includes sticky die-cuts that are scored and meant to be folded in half over the garland twine. I cut them apart and put them on notecards instead. I added some punch outs from the new Petite Petals punch and a little Jumbo Rhinestone bling to make it sparkly.

A quick warning: The Petite Petals Punch is currently out of stock and on backorder. It was more popular than Stampin' Up! expected.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Need to package up a quick gift or treat? Twisty Treats is the perfect answer! This gender-neutral treat bag kit includes enough bags and tags to package 12 treats or party favors. I used the kit on Valentine's Day to package up my husband's favorite treat: three Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts. (I started with four, but ate one! Ssh! Don't tell him!)

The Twisty Treats Kit (#133153) is one of the Sale-a-bration gifts that you can choose for FREE when you order $50 or more during Sale-a-bration (which ends March 31). Click here to see my Sale-a-bration Quick Gift Guide to see what other gifts you can choose from.

Friday, February 21, 2014

I guess I am a little late in posting this card because it's kind of a valentine, but really, we can (and should!) express our love and gratitude for family and friends all year long! I have a bunch of die-cut Pretty Presents Designer Tags leftover from the Holiday Catalog, but you can certainly create a similar tag with the new Tag Topper Punches and some designer paper.

The sentiment (XOXO) is from the "Oh Goodie!" stamp set that was in the Holiday Catalog and is STILL available on the Holiday Carryover List. If you're looking for holiday themed stamp sets, punches, and framelits, make sure to check out the Stampin' Up! Holiday Carryover List. Click here to view available products now. You can enter the item number in my Online Store and add any of these items to your next order!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

I CASEd this card from my friend Robin Armbrecht who designed the make and takes for our last team meeting. I changed the colors in attempt to make it more masculine, but honestly, the heart on the cupcake makes it a little girly, so I went ahead and added the rhinestone and glitter!

Click here to see more cards using the Another Great Year stamp set. I like how Robin stamped the banners on another color and then cut them out and adhered them over the stamped image on white cardstock. This technique is called paper piecing.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

It's time for another Control Freaks Blog Tour! Whether you came from Connie Babbert's blog or you're just arriving -- welcome!! I am excited to be a stop on your inspiration journey this month.

There is no theme for this month's tour, so you'll see a lot of different ideas. Since we're in the middle of Sale-a-bration, I decided to focus on some of the fabulous Sale-a-bration gifts that you can earn for free when you buy $50 or more during during Sale-a-bration, which ends March 31st. There's plenty of time to take advantage of this awesome deal! Make sure to subscribe to my newsletter to receive my weekly "Sale-a-bration Inspiration" emails for even more Sale-a-bration ideas!

This first card is one that I designed for my stamp club. It was a combination of different ideas from other demonstrators. I love finding other uses for punches, so I was thrilled with the concept of using the Banner Punch (Sale-a-bration Gift, #133519) for rays of a sun! And the sentiment in the See Ya Later stamp set (Sale-a-bration Gift, Wood #133533 or Clear #133536) is the perfect thing to coordinate with a Banner Punch sun! It says: "You make me happy with skies are gray."

I used the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (Sale-a-bration Gift
#133520) to add some texture to the card. The clouds are cut from the Word Bubbles Framelits (#132968).

This is an Easel Card, so you can prop the card open by setting it up against the banner on the inside of the card. I used markers to color just the image from the See Ya Later stamp for the inside banner punch.

I am working on a video tutorial for the Easel Card, so be sure to come back and visit me again to learn how to make this fun card!

My next card is "clean and simple". I made these up to swap at our team meeting earlier this month. I was inspired by several cards I saw on Pinterest. I love the simple collage of stamps from the Petal Parade stamp set (Sale-a-bration gift, Wood #133599 or Clear #133602). I have to admit, the first time I saw this stamp set in the brochure, I thought it was kind of ugly! It's amazing how stamp images come to life when you add COLOR!

I used the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (Sale-a-bration Gift #133520) on this card too. It's so versatile! And I had to add a little punch out from my favorite new punch: Petite Petals Punch (#133322) with some Jumbo Rhinestone bling!

This is my personal blog. The content contained on this blog and in the classes, products, and services that I offer is my sole responsibility as an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and is not endorsed by Stampin' Up!